Boca’s Downtown Post Office Won’t Be Moving

By: Michael Demyan

Boca Raton’s downtown post office, located across from Mizner Park, will be staying right where it is.

The U.S. Postal Service reached an agreement with its landlord, allowing them to stay at their current location, where it has been for over 50 years. The decision to stay comes after months of input and discussion among the public and city leaders.

The idea was first brought up to former Mayor Susan Haynie on Feb. 20, but current Mayor Scott Singer announced shortly after that Boca Raton City Council unanimously supported keeping the post office where it is.

“We’ve been working with our federal lobbyists, the Postal Service, our congressional representative – Congressman Deutch – all of them to communicate how strongly we feel about our Post Office remaining in our downtown,” Singer said back in March.

Adding to the city council’s opinion, over 1,000 residents signed a petition to keep the post office from moving to a different location before a meeting was held on March 29 with the USPS, city council and the public in attendance.

The final decision was addressed to Singer on July 3 in a letter from Tom Samra, USPS vice president of facilities, describing that at the start of discussions, its landlord said that the lease would not be renewed. After hearing from the public, the USPS had since been able to come to a long-term agreement with the landlord.

“To be self-sustaining, the Postal Service must make decisions that ensure it provides adequate and affordable postal services in a matter that is as efficient and economical as possible,” Samra said in the letter.

Singer was pleased to hear the news that the USPS would not be moving the location away from downtown.

“Thank you to all of the many residents who joined in this community effort to voice our concerns about the proposed move and process,” he said. “Your elected representatives shared these concerns with the USPS. Together, we overcame the trend of post office closings throughout the nation. The Postal Service listened to our statements on the need for a post office in our thriving downtown and its importance to residents and businesses.”

About the Author

Michael Demyan - Michael Demyan is the associate editor and reporter for The Boca Raton Tribune. He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University where he received a degree in Multimedia Journalism. Twitter: @michaeldemyan